In the swamps

This large wading bird, all in placidity and elegance, can be seen in the south of France.
In the evening, when the sun begins to decline, the lights soften.

This magnificent wader, with its iridescent plumage, is a real survivor in France.
20 years ago, there were 14 pairs in the territory, today more than 1800 pairs
are distributed mainly in the southern half of the country.

This large black and white wading bird, from the same family as the spatula, has colonized a large part of France.
You should know that the African Sacred Ibis, escaped in the early 90s from zoological parks
in Morbihan and Roussillon, quickly spread in France
and is today a real danger for the broods of other birds whose eggs it predates.

The black-headed gull, a great regular on our shores!

What an elegance! The biggest wader we have in France. It is magnificent with its long beak and colorful plumage.

This magnificent sea goose is native to Siberia. Each year,
nearly 50,000 individuals come to pass through the Arcachon basin
which represents the largest concentration in the world.

Just like the black-headed gull, the common gull is common on all the French coast.

Another beautiful shorebird! Decidedly, I really like the family of waders, it shows, right?

The black stork is much less widespread in France than its cousin the white stork. Only 70 to 90 couples listed in 2019. So when I’m lucky enough to come across it, my camera and I are the happiest!

I love seeing this veritable king of the swamp hover over the reeds when he goes hunting.

It is often confused with its cousin the Harrier Saint-Martin. They can be differentiated by size,
the Hen harrier being a little larger and beefier,
and by some differences in plumage.

The photo shoots on the colony of common terns are always great moments
the behaviors of this bird are so varied and interesting.

Like its cousin the common tern, the sandwich tern has very interesting habits to observe
, whether it be courtship displays, feeding, fishing sessions
. I always take immense pleasure in photographing them.

Undoubtedly the most beautiful of our herons with its red/tawny hues.
He is rather rare with us and it is always a pleasure to come across him.

The fragility and elegance of the black-winged stilt have always attracted me. But this fragility is only apparent
because in reality the black-winged stilt is capable, especially during the breeding season,
of being very violent with its competitors, often engaging in really hard fights.

Texte à venir

It is part of the plovers family and has the same size as the Great plovers.
Its more tawny and softer colors contrast with its close cousin.

texte à venir

The male Bluethroat, as soon as it returns home in the spring, will devote all its time
to marking its territory and attracting the female by exposing its beautiful deep blue throat
enhanced with its white mirror and singing perched
on the highest branches of the bushes.

In my opinion one of the most beautiful waders in France and also one of the most common.
We see it everywhere, in the countryside, on the outskirts of cities, it is very widespread in France.
But for the photographer who will try to approach him, it’s mission impossible
because he is very shy.

It is also called night heron. This wading bird is smaller than its cousin the gray heron.
we recognize him in particular by his red eyes which give him a unique look.

The little ringed plover, as its name suggests, is the smallest of the ringed plover. Much smaller than its cousin the Common Ringed Plover which is larger, compared to the little ringed plover which is smaller, yet it’s not complicated !

One of the smallest waders present in France but also one of the most common.
It has the particularity of nodding its tail almost constantly.

Here is a very beautiful wading bird, with its very specific spatula-shaped beak.
To feed, it sticks its impressive beak into the mud, which it digs in with horizontal sweeping movements.

Another amazing subject to watch. Its aerial combat with its congeners or overly curious birds of prey,
its mask surrounding its magnificent deep yellow eyes, make me adore this nocturnal bird of prey.
Not easy to observe it because it is only present in my region for 2 or 3 months in winter and there are very few individuals.

This great fisherman, who lives mainly along the coast, likes to be perched high up. It is not uncommon to see him drying his wings apart for long minutes.

The very elegant little egret, immaculately white, can be seen everywhere in France and around the world.
This wading bird is a formidable fisherman with its digging legs and dagger-shaped beak.

The ziting Cisticola is a rather discreet bird that lives in marshy areas planted with rushes or reeds.
His favorite position to wait for his future prey is placed on a stem of reeds.

The white stork, one of our great waders, comes to reproduce in France at the end of winter and will leave for Africa mainly at the end of August and September.
More and more individuals do not migrate and now winter in France.
Fortunately, the white stork it is one of the few expanding birds in our country.